Fastening device



R. P.*WHITE.

FASTENING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9. 1917- 1,330,966 Patented Feb. 17,1920.

(RICHARD P. WHITE, OF CHTCAGO, ILLINQIS.

FASTENING nnvxon.

Specification of Letters Iatent. Patented'Feb. 17, 1920.

Application filed larch 9, 1917. Serial No. 153,677.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD P. WHITE, a

citizenof the United. States, residin at Chicago, in thecounty of Cook and tate of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fastening Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in fastening devices and more particularly to a clasp for clamping a lid or cover to a receptacle.

" One of the objects of my invention is the provision of such a fastener for clam n down the cover of a jar or crock in w 1cli the contacting surfaces are liable to be irregular, warped or rough, and therefore liable to make uneven contact, as for example when the receptacle is made of earthen-ware or Vitreous material.

Another object of my invention'is to provide such a fastener for securely clamping the cover in position and holding it resiliently against its seat.

Still other and further objects will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following description and drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the top of a crock showing the cover fastened thereon by means of my improved clasp.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the clasps shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a fragment of a crock showing the cover fastened thereto by means of a clasp of a form slightly modified from that shown in Fig. 1.

Earthenware crooks or vessels in which the cover or lid is seated upon the wide mouth of the receptacle quite frequently present a rough or irregular closure-joint, due either to warping, coarse material, poor workmanship or other causes. Because of this, positive unyielding clamps or clasps for holdin the cover in position are apt to be unsatis actory, the clasp bein either too tight or too loose in the event t e seat between the lid and the rim of the jar happens to be irregular.' To obviate the above difficulty, I have provided a resilient, extensible clamping member, which fits snugly against the rim of the jar and cover.

Referring to the particular embodiment of the invention which I have illustrated in Fig. 1 the numeral 11 indicates the cylindrical body portion of a crock provided at its upper end with a peripheral bead or from the body flange 12 upon which is seated a cover 13. At suitable-points about the periphery of the crock I have provided lugs 14 extending of the jar outwardly immedlately beneath the flange 12 and lyin entirely within the plan area of the bead. Pivoted upon these lugs 14 on ins 15, extending through the lugs, are nger levers 17 with downturned parallel ears 18 for engagement with opposite sides of the lug 14 and through which thepivot pin 15 passes. The clamping link or arm, indlcated in general b the numeral 19, comprises a generally -shaped wire, the closed end portion of which is bent or hooked downwardly, as at 20, for engagement with the recess or notch 21 formed in the lid 13 near its periphery. The portion of the link next adjacent the closed end 20 is angled outwardly,

as at 22, to lie close against the edge portion of the lid 13 when in locked position, the intermediate portion 23 extending .downwardly over the edge of the lid 13 andbead l2, and then inbent, as at 21, the ends being formed into inwardly extending coaxial fingers 25 for engagement with perforations in the lever ears 18 at a point below and inside the pivot 15 when the finger is in its locked position as indicated at the right of Fig. 1, thus forming a toggle connection securely locking the member in position.

Both legs of the link at its intermediate portion 23 are crimped into a plurality of curves 26 permitting slight resilient extension of the link at this intermediate portion, the crimps in both legs being formed to lie in the same plane close against, and parallel with the edge of the bead 12 of the crock. The positioning of the links flat against the edge of the cover and the periphery of the receptacle bead provides a neat inconspicuous clasp, taking but little space. As the clas does not project outwardly from the croc there is little or no likelihood of its being accidentally loosened or injured and the crooks may be acked close together without danger of brea ing the lugs or harming the clasps.

From the above it will be obvious that the attachment clamps are securely pivoted to the crock and the cover may be readily detached by upward and outward movement of the finger levers into the position indicated at the left of Fig. 1. The link 19 is constructed so that if a perfect seat be made 16 comprising a finger engaging body part/ between the cover 13 and the rim bead 12 the downward movement of the finger lever 16 will but slightly extend the crimped intermediate portion 26, the extension being merely sufiicient'to lock the toggle joint. If, however, the surfaces either on the cover or the head 12 are irregular, rough or warped, sufficient vertical elongation may take place in the crimped intermediate portion 26 of the link to insure a tight engagement without interfering with the easy operation of the clamps.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 3 I have provided a similar crimped connecting link 19', the closed end 21' of which, however, passes through a perforation in a lug 14 formed on the upper outer edge of the cover 13. In this instance the finger lever comprises a wire indicated in general by the numeral 30 formed to provide a finger piece 31, an intermediate looped pivot part 32 and a short flange engaging arm 33. The lower inturned ends 25 of the link 19 extend into the loops 32 of the finger piece and provide a pivotal connection therebetween. The inner end of the finger piece 30 is adapted to be brought down and under the edge of the jar head 12 and the outer end 31 is then pressed downwardly against the wall of the crock 10 into the position indicated at the right of Fig. 3, the point of engagement between the lever 33 and the under edge of the flange being at the right of a line drawn through the pivot 32 and the pivot 21 between the lid andxlink, it is obvious that a toggle leverage is formed, locking the cover in place, the connecting link 19 being in this instance as in the form first described, vertically elastic to account for inequalities, irregularities or warping of the jar rim or cover.

Whereas I have illustrated and described but two embodiments of my invention it will be obvious that many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claim.

Having described my invention, What I.

claim is A clasp for clamping a cover on a vessel having in combinative association, a vessel, provided with a part near its upper end to which to pivot a clasp lever; a lever having one end pivoted thereto, the free end of said lever adapted to lie in a lane substantially parallel with the side wa l of the vessel and below the pivoted end thereof when the clasp is closed; a link pivoted to the lever intermediate its free end and the pivoted end, said link comprising a part extending upwardly and outwardly from the pivot, then vertically to a point above the top edge of the jar, then inwardly, upwardly and finally in a downward direction to engage a depression in the top surface of the cover when the clasp is closed.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand.

RICHARD P. WHITE. 

